2014 Core 77 Award: Speculative Design (student)

Whereabouts encourages new approaches to social impact design. With collaborator Betsy Kalven, I was named Winner of the 2014 Core77 Design Award for Speculative Design. The jury cited our work as sensitive, thought-provoking, and exemplary.

Our approach privileges design as sociocultural inquiry and provocation over solution delivery. The project consists of a series of bespoke objects — Boda Whisper Helmet, Clique Din Low, Hush Hush Headset. Together, this suite reframes three everyday sound interactions in order to stimulate discussion and provoke imagination in Kampala, Uganda. At the same time, the representation of the project deliberately subverts expectations, challenging Western designers and audiences to reconsider what design can be in developing contexts.